French Cycling Champion Jeannie Longo Withdraws from 2011 Road World Championships in Denmark

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French Cycling Champion Jeannie Longo Withdraws from 2011 Road World Championships in Denmark

French veteran Jeannie Longo, who is set to face disciplinary aciton for failing to provide her whereabouts to anti-doping authorities on three occasions, will not ride in next week's world championships, her lawyers said on Wednesday.

French veteran Jeannie Longo, who is set to face disciplinary aciton for failing to provide her whereabouts to anti-doping authorities on three occasions, will not ride in next week's world championships, her lawyers said on Wednesday.

"Jeannie Longo, who is greatly affected by unfair accusations made against her, is not in a physical or mental condition to defend her chances at the highest level," her lawyers Bruno Ravaz and Pierre Albert wrote in a statement.

"As a consequence, she will not take part in the world championships."

The world championships will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark from September 19-25.

Longo is set to face disciplinary action from the French federation (FFC) once the FFC has received formal notification from the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) that she failed to provide her whereabouts to authorities on three occasions.

In a separate case, her husband Patrice Ciprelli has been provisionally suspended by the FFC after sports daily L'Equipe reported on Tuesday that he bought erythropoietin (EPO) in China via a former U.S. professional rider.

Ciprelli has denied any wrongdoing.

Longo, France's most successful cyclist and one of the nation's favourite sports personalities, won the first of her 13 world road and track titles in 1985 and picked up an Olympic road-race gold medal in Atlanta in 1996.

The 2011 road cycling world championships starts in Copenhagen on September 19, with the elite women's road race to be held five days later on Saturday the 24th of September.